


Tubs and Tenderness

by bleedcolor, Likelightinglass



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Bathtub Sex, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hair Washing, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23337964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleedcolor/pseuds/bleedcolor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Likelightinglass/pseuds/Likelightinglass
Summary: Severus has a terrible, no good, very bad day.Harry knows just how to help.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Comments: 47
Kudos: 446





	Tubs and Tenderness

Today wasn't anywhere near the _worst_ day of Severus Snape's life, but it was bad enough to cause a pounding headache and leave a scowl twisting his lips, not to mention the sudden and persistent desire to run away and live in the woods. Somewhere remote enough that the board of governors would never find him. 

Of course, then he would have to convince Harry to come with him, and something told him his husband wouldn’t be too keen on leaving behind the Weasley menagerie he called his family, not to mention his career of feeding the hungry or furnishing orphanages or whatever do-gooder project he was currently on about. Severus allowed himself a single moment of thinking of Harry as just a wealthy layabout before feeling guilty. Harry had done plenty of good for the Wizarding World, and a mountain of good for Severus. In fact, the thought of coming home to Harry was the only thing that had kept him going through this no good, terrible, very bad day. 

And what a day it had been! If he had to hear one more _polite suggestion_ from those idiots on the board about how to run _his_ school he was liable to go barking mad. After all, he’d been headmaster of Hogwarts for seven years now, and Hogwarts had never seen so few magical accidents, or had a budget so balanced. Inter-house unity was up as were O.W.L. and N.E.W.T scores. And (he was proudest of this), instances of overall mischief were down to levels not seen since before certain Gryffindors were given free reign to roam the corridors and wreak havoc. The first time. 

If the constant owls from the board weren’t irritation enough, Albus’ portrait had been blathering on nonstop throughout the day, the entire staff seemed to have their own collections of asinine problems that apparently no one aside from him could solve, and if he had to break up _one more_ student fight over some newfangled magical playing card game, he was going to ban it from school grounds. 

Finally, a couple hours after he was normally due to head home, the last bit of paperwork that needed to be dealt with was finished and he warded the door against any more uninvited guests. Severus sighed and decided to call it a day. Luckily, he had already arranged to spend the entire weekend at home, leaving Minerva in charge until Monday morning so he could have a well deserved break and spend some quality time with Harry. 

He pulled himself out of his chair, cracking his sore neck and scowling at the renewed pounding in his head, and made his way over to the Floo, announcing his intention to return home to his and Harry’s cottage.

“So you _do_ remember where you live, at least,” Harry’s voice greeted him as he stepped out of the floo. Severus could see that he had a scowl of his own, where he was slumped into his chair.

Severus bristled immediately, his ill-temper taking control of his vocal cords before he could think better of it. “Just what is that supposed to mean? I wasn’t aware that I was a child, needing to ask for your leave to be home late!” 

“Of course not, but you might have sent a bloody _note_!” Harry’s voice rose in pitch and Severus grit his teeth, trying to rein in his temper.

“A note? It’s not as if I was out all night, gallivanting through the pubs, was it?” He didn’t understand Harry’s upset, the amount of irritation coming off his husband in waves as he sulked in front of the fire. He didn’t understand, until he noticed the fine silver threads glittering along the hem of the robes that Harry is wearing. His dress robes, brought out for special occasions and otherwise relegated to the back of the wardrobe. A low groan escaped him as the knut dropped.

“The ceremony for the new hospital wing,” Severus said almost miserably, his anger deflating. “You finished the project with St. Mungo’s and the dedication was today.”

“That’s right. And you took this whole weekend off a month ago so we could attend and then finally see each other for more than a couple of hours at a time.” 

Severus groaned again, his shoulders dropping from the defensive hunch they’d automatically drawn into when Harry had greeted him. “I’m sorry.” He doesn’t say it often, but when he is wrong he has learned to admit it. “I forgot.”

Harry eyed him skeptically from his seat, green gaze slowly taking in Severus’ posture--a posture he could only assume was shouting his exhaustion. “ _You_ forgot? Mister I-always-recall-the-most-minute-details-particularly-the-ones-that-embarrass-my-husband? You _forgot_?”

Severus made a face at that, but didn’t deny that he enjoyed reminding Harry of things that they both know he’d rather forget and gave a tired sigh, raising his hands in an open-palmed gesture of remorse. “How can I make it up to you?”

Green eyes glittered for a long moment in the firelight before Harry twitched his finger in a come-hither motion that Severus was helpless to obey. He wouldn’t say that he didn’t want to climb into bed and sleep for a decade, after the day he’d had, but he could hardly deny Harry anything he wanted. And it was't as if it was a hardship.

Severus followed the direction of Harry’s finger and ran through a few ideas on how Harry might best like him to make up for his mistake. He found himself in the position of apologizing this way often enough that he decided to settle for an old standby that always put Harry in a good mood. Before he could move to open Harry’s dress robes and sink to his knees, however, he was pulled down so that he half-tumbled into Harry’s lap, ending up draped awkwardly across his husband and the large wingback chair. Harry shifted and, after a moment of small maneuvers, he found himself arranged pleasantly enough against a warm, familiar chest. 

Severus breathed in deeply and sighed with contentment as he was pulled closer still, taking in the slightly spicy aroma of Harry’s cologne and unconsciously he pressed his face against the velvet of the dress robes, rubbing his cheek against the smooth texture. Wrapping his arms around Harry’s body, Severus waited for the lecture to continue. He was surprised, although he really shouldn’t be, when all he heard instead was Harry's concerned voice murmur into his hair. “What’s wrong, love?” 

Severus didn’t know if he’d ever get used to Harry’s kindness, but he was certain he was never going to deserve it. He took another deep breath of Harry’s comforting scent and found himself beginning to relax a bit, in slow increments.

“The board of governors are a migraine in human form and I’m fairly certain the rest of the planet is conspiring to finish off whatever they leave behind.”

“The whole world is hardly out to get you.” Harry sounded annoyingly amused at what Severus might admit was _slight_ hyperbole. But only just.

“No?” Severus tipped his head back to better look at Harry, or rather, so Harry might better see the skeptical rise of his eyebrow.

“No,” Harry smiled, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind Severus’ ear and stroking his fingers down over the back of his nape. “I mean, consider that the Muggles don’t even know you exist.”

“They vex me just by continuing to be,” Severus grumbled, dropping his head back down on Harry’s shoulder. “If I hear one more complaint from a student about having to leave their “ecks-box” behind, I’m going to expel the whole lot.” He paused. “What the bloody hell is it, anyway?”

Harry hummed a wordless answer, apparently having lost whatever insight he’d had in the Muggle world. 

“All right, Muggles were a poor example. What about me, then?” Those talented fingers stroked through Severus’ hair again and he allowed his eyes to slide closed, the twitch of a smile curving his lips.

“As in so many things, you are the exception that proves the rule.”

Harry chuckled at that, but continued trailing his fingers through Severus’ hair and holding him close. “Well, we can’t have that. I better do something to make your suffering worthwhile, then.”

Severus would be perfectly content to simply bask in this moment forever, happily soaking up Harry’s affection, but he hadn’t sorted Slytherin for nothing. He peeled an eye open and looked at his husband speculatively. “What did you have in mind?”

* * *

The steam in the bathroom smelled like something light and fruity. It was something of a mystery because Severus was certain that neither he nor Harry owned any bath product that would have produced the scent, but there it was, tantalizing his nose as the taps filled the bathtub with hot water. Harry wanted them to have a bath together. They had shared _showers_ several times over their years together, when they were either short on time or simply feeling a bit adventurous, but somehow baths together had never been considered. Until now, apparently. Severus eyed the tub with no small amount of trepidation.

“We won’t both fit.” It wasn’t the most eloquent argument, but certainly Harry could see his reasoning. The tub was comfortably sized for one occupant, but two would be pushing far past the bounds of cramped.

Harry gave him a rather flat glance and lifted his wand from the sink’s counter, flicking it almost carelessly toward their tub. “Engorgio!”

Severus tried to think if he’d ever been so put-out to be a wizard before. He knew people bathed together, it shouldn’t be as shocking as all that, but he still couldn’t see himself enjoying the experience. “I really don’t think--”

“Are you going to deny me this, Severus? After you _missed_ the St. Mungo’s dedication? I was really looking forward to it, you know.” As if the reminder of his guilt wasn’t bad enough, Harry threw in an exaggerated pout, widening his eyes and pulling forward an expression of disappointment.

The little brat became more Slytherin every day. “Are the bubbles really necessary?” Severus asked with a quirk of his eyebrow, knowing he’d been defeated. 

“Yes, they absolutely are,” said Harry with conviction, and waved his wand in the direction of the taps to stop the tub from overflowing. “Stop grumbling, it’ll be fun, I promise.” Harry stripped down and banished his robes to the laundry. He smirked at Severus as he slowly sank into the now overly large tub. Severus didn’t even bother attempting to hide that he was watching appreciatively and enjoying the sight of his husband’s toned, fit body. 

“Well, I can’t fault the view,” Severus said, ogling what he could see of Harry above the line of bubbles with a slight leer. 

“You have to be naked too, you know,” said Harry, grinning at the attention. He laid back against the wall of the tub and made a space between his legs, indicating where he wanted Severus to sit. 

Severus may not have been the one to choose bathing together as an activity for this evening but he had to admit his mood was rapidly improving. Despite his doubts there was always something thrilling about the idea of pressing his naked body against Harry’s and it left his blood thrumming through his veins to consider what his husband had in store for him. He removed his robes and joined Harry in the tub, prick already stirring in interest as the water swept in around his ankles.

As soon as he’d settled against him, Severus turned his head to capture Harry’s lips in a kiss. Kissing Harry was among the best things in his life and the sweet, gentle press of his lips against the other man’s quickly deepened and became heated. Severus moved over, splashing a bit of water as he reoriented himself so he was face to face with Harry, their bodies pressing together as his hand found its way into tangling into Harry’s messy curls and his tongue moved in his mouth. 

Harry pulled away from the kiss, separating and smiling at Severus’ inability to hold back his petulant whine as he broke the contact. “Patience,” Harry said lightly, maneuvering them back into their original positions in the tub and pressing a chaste peck against Severus’ temple. “I have other plans first.”

“What, exactly, is wrong with the plans we were already exploring?” he asked, unwilling to outright state that he would very much like to continue kissing, and possibly more, sooner rather than later. Preferably in bed, but after that rather pleasant experiment he was willing to consider the tub.

“Just lay back and relax,” Harry said. “Let me pamper you a bit.” 

Severus let out a perfunctory huff, but obediently turned away to let Harry do as he would. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy being pampered by his husband, quite the opposite, it just unsettled him, coming as it did with the reminder that he was wholly dependent on the love of this man.

Harry conjured some sort of basin and used it to gently wet his hair, the warm water trickling down the strands and over his ears and neck. He had the very vague recollection of this having been done to him years and years ago, and he instinctively tilted his head up to keep the water out of his eyes. 

He closed his eyes, relaxing slightly as the woodsy scent of shampoo filled the air, as Harry uncorked the bottle and began to work the product through his fine, limp hair. He carefully pulled his fingers through the strands, working the shampoo into a lather and lightly massaging the scalp beneath. Severus simply breathed in, quietly but unsteadily as he allowed himself the simple pleasure of having his hair washed. 

Harry had been his husband for years now, and his lover for a little longer, but he would never quite be able to settle quietly into the gentleness that came with Harry's care for him. It was so undeserved, so impossible to comprehend, even years later, that this life was really _his_ , that the love of this wonderful man was something he actually had to keep. 

“You’re thinking about something," Harry said, interrupting his reflections, his hands sliding from his hair to press just so at the knot between Severus’ shoulders, where he carried most of his tension. 

Severus couldn’t help the way his lips twitched upwards in amusement. Strange, that Harry Potter would ever learn to read him so well. “Mmn. You should try it some time,” he murmured, the insult automatic.

“Prat,” Harry replied, but there wasn't any bite in the tone and after a moment he began to massage the shampoo into Severus’ scalp once more.

Severus sighed in contentment and sank lower into the warm water, happy to allow Harry to continue the wonderful work he was doing on his neck and shoulders. He could feel his headache slipping away, along with the tension and irritations of the day. How did he ever survive, he thought idly, before he had Harry to come home to?

Harry rinsed the shampoo out of the now clean and grease free hair with several passes of the basin. He made his way down to the twists of scar tissue that still marred the side of Severus' neck and parts of the upper chest and left shoulder. He stroked lightly, the soap and water easing his movements into a gentle slide, careful of the delicate skin there. 

Perhaps it was the overwhelming love which came through with every touch and every action that loosened his tongue, but Severus suddenly muttered out, "You're perfect."

"Well, you know that isn't true," Harry replied immediately, but Severus could tell from his voice he was smiling. "I seem to recall you being aware of a number of my flaws as recently as a couple of days ago, when I left my dirty dishes in the sink overnight."

Severus sighed, a wry smile tugging his lips at the reminder. Harry could have anyone in the world, certainly someone who didn’t nag at him for various small offenses throughout the day. "I will never understand why you chose to spend your life with the mean, old dungeon bat. And even less certain how you can go from rightfully angry with me to...well, _this_ , in the span of an hour."

"Well, you see," Harry said in a serious tone, while continuing his magical massage along Severus' increasingly relaxed shoulders, "I have this condition where I'm hopelessly in love with you. So that does help."

His urge to protest the lightness with which Harry was treating the matter was nearly automatic. "Again, I--"

But Harry silenced him with a kiss. "None of that, now. I thought we were finished with all of that nonsense ages ago. I love you, and you love me, and now we have to live happily ever after for the rest of our very long lives."

“Happily ever after, hmm?” Severus mused softly, warmth pooling in his chest at the thought. He wasn’t convinced that he’d ever done anything to deserve Harry, but he certainly would work to keep Harry thinking that he had.

“That’s right.” Harry pulled Severus closer to him, wrapping his arms around his chest and twisting a leg around him, enveloping him from all sides. He pressed a kiss to the side of Severus' face and smiled into his jaw, breathing in the fresh scent of the shampoo. "I've missed you."

Severus couldn’t resist the urge any longer: he twisted around in Harry’s hold as much as he was able, water sloshing over the edge of the tub as he positioned himself, and pressed his lips to his husband’s, devouring him in a heady kiss. 

This time Harry didn't pull away, but deepened the kiss, sucking at his lower lip and wrapping his arms around Severus' neck. Their bodies were pressed together, and despite the awkward angle of attempting to navigate within a bathtub, the hardness pressed against Severus' side indicated his husband's obvious arousal. 

"I've missed you too," Severus said in a low growl as he moved his hand beneath the water to grasp the hard cock nudging him, stroking down the length of it in practiced movements. 

Harry moaned against Severus' neck, sucking a mark into the pale flesh there and nipping lightly along the skin as Severus sped up his movements below. "Won't take long," Harry breathed against his ear, "feels like it's been ages." He sucked the earlobe into his mouth and darted his tongue along the sensitive spot below. "Make me come, love," Harry whispered, sending a shiver down Severus' spine. 

He was at full mast now himself and pressed his aching prick against Harry's inner thigh, where coarse hairs provided an interesting sort of texture, even when wet, letting the soapy film in the water provide enough slick to rut against him with all the grace and dignity of a randy teenager.

Harry was right, it didn't take long at all for pleasure to overtake them both, a few more pushes and pulls, the electricity of orgasm sweeping through them almost simultaneously. Harry grunted his release into Severus’ ear, breath hot, and Severus gave a shuddering moan against Harry’s throat, their hips rolling together through the aftermath of ecstasy. 

They lingered in the bath for several more moments before Harry nudged them both to their feet with a quiet, “Water’s getting cold,” and drew the showerhead down to give them each a brisk rinse before he lifted the bath plug.

The water drained and Severus and Harry pulled themselves out of the tub, their bodies much more languid and relaxed than when they'd gotten in, a look of pleased contentment on both their faces. Harry summoned their towels and draped one over Severus' head, mussing up his hair in an attempt to help dry it, before dissolving into laughter at the frizzy mess it became. 

"Your hair!" Harry laughed, attempting to get a hold of himself, but Severus' pursed lips just added to the comedy of the situation. 

"Why don't you look in the mirror yourself, brat," Severus said, gesturing to the wild bramble of Harry's half-wet mop of black hair. Harry's laugh turned into a loud guffaw, so endearing that Severus joined in with a hearty chuckle after a moment. Overcome with a sudden burst of happiness, he stole another kiss from Harry, smiling against Harry's barely contained grin.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Harry said, ending the kiss with clear reluctance, but keeping his face only inches away from Severus'. "Before you distracted me--"

Severus felt his brows raise in surprise. "Before, _I_ distracted _you_?” he huffed.

"Yes, exactly," Harry continued, ignoring the interruption with a sly sort of smile. "I have a present for you."

"I don't need any presents from you." The words came unbidden from his lips, but no less true for their lack of thought. Harry gave him everything he needed, gifts were hardly necessary.

"Maybe not, but you deserve them," Harry said, kissing him before he could interrupt again. "Anyway, you'll want this one. I booked us a little holiday in that town you loved in the south of France for the weekend."

Severus stared at him, almost uncomprehending. They’d passed through that town on their honeymoon, for less than a day. Trust Harry to remember the way he’d been pleased by the charming history, the magnificent libraries. "And what do you intend that we do there?" he asked slowly.

"Enjoy ourselves and be sickeningly in love, I should think." Harry lifted a hand and stroked a fingertip down the length of Severus’ nose, dropping a tap on the very end. Severus went cross-eyed for a moment, watching the motion.

A huff of amusement escaped him, and he shook his head, giving Harry a wry smile. "I do love you. So much." 

"Perfect," Harry replied with a grin. "You have the next two days to prove it."

“Two days?” Severus raised an eyebrow and tugged him close, their chests pressed together as he reached up and tugged on an errant lock of Harry’s hair. “That’s hardly enough time.”

Harry blinked at him, eyes going wide in genuine surprise. “Just how long do you think you need?”

Severus smiled and leaned in, as if he were sharing a secret. “Forever sounds just long enough.”


End file.
